Lights is the pseudonym of Valerie Poxleitner - musician, songwriter, and comic book artist extraordinaire. Based out of Canada, she may not be as much of a household name in the States as she would be if she were from, say, LA. Yet, as a recent sold out show at Seattle's Showbox, a decade of touring worldwide, and several million diehard followers across social media can attest, Lights is an artist who has carved her own path through a wholly unique vision and a tireless work ethic.

To be clear, she puts on an incredible show. As of this writing, she's currently in the midst of her We Were Here tour, to which you'd be highly encouraged to attend. Outside of the music itself, Lights has her hands in every creative aspect of her art: from creating a comic book to accompany her latest album, "Skin & Earth", to designing much of her merchandise, to seamlessly transitioning between acoustic guitar, piano, dancing, and playing an instrument out of a gigantic pizza box during her live set.

Her versatility and ability across many artistic disciplines is an anomaly in a sea of singular pop stars, and something which fully deserves your attention.

Live music is one of the healthiest risks you can take. It's a gamble on any given night in a city as culturally and musically diverse as Seattle. Often times the hardest part is choosing which show to see, and thus which show to miss. The Genreless Abomination is a celebration of this multi-faceted gem. Over the course of 2 days 14 bands with a variety of sounds will gather together in one place, along with their supporting communities to celebrate this distinct, vibrant place. Rather than attempting to showcase bands in order of skill level, and popularity, the two nights shows have been curated by music writer Sean Jewell like a mixtape, ranging in moods, sonic experimentation, and styles to create a listening experience different from the average live show.

Music will take place continuously, alternating between two separate stages, mixing sounds and crowds of supporting listeners with the hopes that attendees will come for one thing and discover another. $10 gets you in at the door, every penny you pay goes directly to the bands.

Corespondents: Balkan based big beat bar-of-soap album releasing bazaar of virtuosos, divining psych and surf and dancehall through common electric guitar and not so common vietnames dan bau.

Double Or Muffin: Smart like Devo, sexy like Stooges, smart ass Seattle rock. They don't even have an album out yet and don't give a damn if you don't like that. If you've been lucky enough to see them around town then you know, you have to see them at this show.

Barry Walker Jr.: Portland based pedal steel player best known as a member of Roselit Bone. His 2017 self-titled album mixed field recordings, folk songs, and a spirit of death. Saturday night he's bringing a full band that may well answer the question "What if Townes Van Zandt had played in The Band".

The Crying Shame: Seattle's best kept country and western seven-piece secret. Led by husband and wife Arlan and Lucile, The Crying Shame combines the timeless lyricism one might find in the Smithsonian Archive, with the disheveled, disillusioned rock of Old 97's early aughts good alt-country.

Roselit Bone: "Like Marty Robbins meets The Cramps, or a Goblin sountrack to a spaghetti western, ranchero fantasy meets greased up country in a magical reality", wear your leathers, and dose accordingly, this huge, haunting band will play the vihuela at the apocalypse, also known as the closing of The Genreless Abomination on Saturday night.

Ben Zar: We are so stoked to have the improvised Guadalajaran exotica of Ben Zar on tour all the way from Mexico. He's played with locals like Correspondents and Ben Von Wildenhaus before, and as a bonus members of Bainbridge drone-age heavy-hippies WEEED will be joining him in the band.

Fresh off her recent double Grammy nominations (for best rock song and best engineered album), K.Flay packed the Showbox in Seattle to capacity. Backed by a three man band, Flay put on an exceedingly energetic show.

The music was killer, and over the course of an hour and 15 minutes, spanned an ever growing catalog of hits. Blood in the Cut and Cops were two standouts, but the entire set of buttoned down, brutally honest tracks flowed together seamlessly.

All that's to say, the show would've been great based on the merits of the music alone, even if she decided just to stand still and sing. But it was clear she came to put on a show, as evidenced by her jumping off various heights of the stage, enthusiastically inviting two women on stage (resulting in a proposal!), and otherwise controlling the crowd like an absolute boss.

If you haven't heard of K.Flay, no doubt you will soon, as her star continues to climb at a breakneck pace. And if you have, well, you know that you need to see her in concert. Right now.

Louisiana-born singer-songwriter Gill Landry swept into Seattle gracing the stage at Showbox in support of his latest release, “Love Rides a Dark Horse”. Road-worn and introspective as ever, Landry’s latest crop of songs fuse the traditional ornamentation of country and folk with the kind of personal, penetrating poetry that propelled Landry into the national conversation.

Written in the wake of a torturous break-up and his departure from Old Crow Medicine Show, “Love Rides a Dark Horse” is, in Landry’s words, “a map out of the darkness rather than an invitation to it”. As often happens, despair is a blessed motivator of artistic invention and Landry’s depths are no exception.

Brutally frank, with flourishes of romantic whimsy, “Love Rides a Dark Horse” is a voyage through a dark night of the soul. In standout track “Berlin”, Landry sings, “Sometimes the darkest moments can be treasures”. It is the perfect summation of this album…a treasure trove of dark moments.

Gill met up with us before his show in the most intimate setting yet... That's right, sitting on the toilet. Enjoy!

Caligula was a Roman Emperor notorious for cruelty and sadism before being brutally killed. Unless I’ve missed something, Seattle sextet Cloud Person are not known for these things. But their new EP “Caligula” is sure to destroy any preconceptions of who they are. With just two songs, “Caligula” and “Get Me Out of This City”, it still clocks in at 12 minutes, every one of them intense and undeniably epic.

I hate indulgent rock wank-ery. I don’t want to listen to jerk-off theory nerds try to recreate Bach without paying an orchestra. With their respective runtimes of 7:25 and 5:13 respectively, it would be easy to assume that these songs are of some similar indulgent ilk. That is, somehow, not the case at all.

“Caligula” starts off quick and dirty, with Pixies-esque fuzz guitar, a soaring bass line and textural synths laying down a rapid-fire rhythm that will get the rock kids jumping around and the smoother, classy types shaking their hips. Cloud Person's hallmark is immaculate composition. Through several tempo changes and tonal shifts, the song maintains emotional immediacy with no fluff to scrape off. It is a movie of a song, a journey that ebbs and flows and ends with the hero standing tall.

"Get Me Out of This City" has a laid-back, bluesy groove. Chugging guitars and bass are embellished with beautiful, Doors-y piano melodies. The tonal shifts are less dramatic than "Caligula" but no less effective. Tasteful psych guitar breaks are interspersed with equally tasteful harmonica interludes to create a vibe I enjoyed best while driving. Weed wouldn't make it less enjoyable, if you're into it. But don't drive and weed. DO NOT drive and weed. Choose.

Cloud Person's anchor, and the one thing that has remained constant throughout their history, is Pete Jordan's vocal and lyrical narrative. If there is an indulgence Jordan partakes in, it is of the emotional kind. “It’s going tonight, the feeling of the state isn’t right,” Jordan intones in “Caligula”, “They tell you to embrace the doubt again. Oh, it’s a lie. Regress to abide.” This strain of impassioned cynicism, full-throated despair, is that of a true believer raging against the tide of apathetic malaise.

The criteria for greatness in today’s industry model is very different than before. Heart often falls far below aesthetic in terms of marketability. Cloud Person’s aesthetic is both retro and thoroughly modern. They have mastered dynamic composition. But it is their heart, laid bare with everything on the line, that distinguishes them from their peers.

Del the Funky HomosapienAsk any hip hop fan who some of the most legendary indie rap groups of all time are, and Hieroglyphics and The Living Legends would undoubtedly be on every single list. So when Del the Funky Homosapien and The Grouch (of Hiero and Living Legends, respectively) co-headlined the Wild Buffalo in Bellingham for Grouch's 11th annual How the Grouch Stole Christmas tour, it was no surprise the house was at capacity.

Del is a bit of an anomaly in rap, comfortably straddling myriad genres outside of simply hip hop while still being, unequivocally, an emcee. Case in point: he's one of the original members of Gorillaz and Deltron 3030. Pulling from a discography of both legendary groups, Hiero, and his solo career, Del could've just phoned it in and the crowd would've likely eaten it up. But, a true showman, Del put on quite a set for a solid 45 minutes, before ending with "Clint Eastwood" from his Gorillaz days.

The Grouch has been paying dues for going on two decades which, in hip hop terms, is tantamount to a career several centuries in longevity. Given that, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect The Grouch, like Del, to just comfortably perform a concise set and bounce. (After all, Bellingham isn't exactly going to pull thousands to a show). Instead, Grouch clearly used those 20 years to continuously hone is stage presence, because his set was nothing short of extraordinarily energetic. In addition to Living Legends tracks, Grouch pulled out hits from his solo and collaborative catalog. A show not to be missed.

When you're 81 years old, you've got a career in music that spans nearly 60 years, and you've worked with artists ranging from Bob Marley to the Beastie Boys, and Rolling Stone names you one of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, your musical legacy is beyond reproach. So if you were to tour at this age, you'd be doing it because you want to, not because you have to. Such is the case with the legend Lee "Scratch" Perry, who recently played to a capacity audience at the Wild Buffalo in Bellingham, WA.

With backing from New York's Subatomic Sound System - Lee's go-to band for the last 6 years - Lee played over an hour long set, complete with encore, with more focus and crowd control at 81 than most artists have at 21. It's the product of years of experience, to be sure, but it's also a hallmark of just being really good at what you do and having innate talent down to the bones. It takes a certain level of gumption and confidence to calmly sip tea on stage, immersed in a sea of incense sticks, in between (and sometimes, during) songs, rather than to shotgun a PBR in an effort to curry favor with the audience.

Perhaps there's no greater testament to Perry's legacy than taking a look at the diversity in the audience: twenty-somethings, seventy-somethings, men, women, a cultural melting pot of baby boomers and millenials. Perry's music has been a shining beacon on the mountain of reggae and dub for six decades, and it will radiate forth for generations to come.

Brother Ali has been a staple in the hip hop community for over 15 years now. Despite endorsements from rap luminaries like Rakim, having Justin Timberlake fanboy out at one of his shows, and garnering acclaim from artists and fans of all genres, Ali has remained steadfastly independent and tied to Minneapolis mainstay Rhymesayers Entertainment. The fact that he was able to completely sell out the Wild Buffalo in Bellingham, WA on a freakin' Tuesday (Halloween, no less) speaks volumes about his continued staying power and relevance in the scene. And, his 15 years of performance experience culminated in one of the most focused, energetic rap shows I've been to in a long while.

Ali undertook his latest tour, The Own Light Tour, to promote his new album, All the Beauty in This Whole Life. While his 90 minute set included a fair amount of cuts from that effort, Ali also took time to revisit tracks from Shadows on the Sun, The Undisputed Truth, and Us. Seeing a capacity audience of 20 and 30 year-olds, fully decked out in Halloween costumes, rap along to the "You don't gotta love me" chorus of "Forest Whitaker" - one of the greatest musical anthems of embracing imperfections - was truly a sight to behold.

But while Ali's a seasoned pro at bringing energy to a raucous crowd, perhaps his greatest strength is being able to parlay that power into moments of quiet introspection, inviting the audience to pause and reflect on the beauty and magic this life has to offer. There aren't many artists, in any genre, who'd be able to unite the audience in reciting a prayer for unity in a foreign language directly on the heels of inciting them to waive their arms back and forth in unison.

That's Ali in a nutshell. That's what makes his music, and his live show, so special.

I am what you'd call a Nadafest professional. I have performed at Nadafest twice. I co-hosted it the first year with organizer Tim Basaraba. When I die tragically young, my body will be displayed on the main stage at Substation before it is burned in tribute. In the three years since its inception I have seen a lot of performances and I can say, without reservation, that this was the best lineup yet.

Nadafest is a product of NadaMucho.com's #41for2017 list. The purpose of the list is to generate interest in artists who aren't receiving widespread coverage in the city, thereby boosting their name value and encouraging them to step up their own promotional game. Artists who made the list in 2017 and in previous years are invited to perform at Nadafest (which is NOT a festival, according to them, even though it is a gathering of musicians and fans taking place over three days, exactly like a music festival).

So there's the setup. What actually happened?

Day 1

I am Tim Basaraba's ride. This is significant because Tim is hosting the event, introducing each band with his friend Zach. I am running late. I am sweating. This entire festival is on my back at the moment, there is no way we can make it exactly at 7:30. I am drowning. I am Drowning. I AM DROWNING.

I pull up to Substation at 7:23. The festival is saved. Tim makes a smartass comment about me being late anyway because that's just how he is. He jumps out of the car. I park. I run in thinking I am about to miss out on the first few minutes of the festival. The Screaming Multitudes, kicking things off in the back room, are not finished sound checking. The venue is far less than full. I have spent 45 minutes freaking out for nothing. My life is a lie.

Once things do kick off, around 8, I quickly come to the conclusion that The Screaming Multitudes are aptly named. They are loud as fuck. There is no bass, two guitars, and drums. I get a Television-meets-Weezer vibe and I mean that as a compliment. Lots of interesting guitar riffage with a distinct punch of power pop. Alliteration. I have to step out toward the end of the set for fear that my ears will literally saw themselves in half.

My ears are already ringing. I smoke a cigarette. I pray.

Killer Ghost are kicking off the main stage and have two drummers. I have loved and hated two-drummer set ups. I like this one. Killer Ghost reminds me a lot of The Velvet Underground. Not like they are a tribute project, they just have a similar aura about them. Their singer also reminds me of Lou Reed but only the Lou Reed who could sing. His voice is better than any era of Lou, to be honest. Great set.

I smoke again. I bullshit with my friends just a bit too long and realize the next act is already performing.

Photo by Jake HansonChristiaan of Hellergrave is performing solo in the back room and I am way into it. The room is dark, the sole ground light is focused on him in his chair. It's like a séance in the middle of a circus. Hellergrave is solemn, cerebral music best reserved for a morning of regret and a bottle of whiskey. I don't drink but I assume that's true. There are mellotron strings accompanying the guitar and vocals. I thought it was a

loop then realize Christiaan is playing it with his fucking feet. I was moved and now started to get the festival feels that I'd been waiting for.

More people are here now. Smoke.

Jake HansonMind Beams are insanely compelling. Describing their sound is stupid because it won't do it justice...but I'll try. They are prog without an ounce of douchebag-ery. They are punk, stoner rock, they are metal...with even a touch of folk every once in a while. Every instrumentalist is a virtuoso without ever being self-indulgent. Front person Meredith Myre's stage presence is spellbinding. Myre also suffers from MS and took the stage with a cane before proceeding to obliterate any doubts one might have about someone in a compromised state of health. They might be the best performance of the whole event.

Smoke.

somesurprises are one of my favorite, somehow-still-not-exactly-well-known bands in Seattle. Theirs is an elegant blend of psych, two guitars interlocking effortlessly while Emma Danner's bass grooves keep the whole thing moving. It's textural, druggy, dreamy, uplifting stuff. Natasha El-Sergany's voice serves as a fifth instrument, draped in reverb and echo to add the final, haunting touch on a masterful performance.

Smoke. After three successive transcendent sets I was feeling great but knew it couldn't last. The mood would have to change.

Photo by Jake HansonEnter Tit Nun. Taking the main stage in the kind of costumes you would expect a band called Tit Nun to wear, they launched into a set of silly, enjoyable punk that bounced between abrasive and campy, B52s-ish fair. Stage banter included helpful information about Scientology and STDs.

Another smoke, I'm starting to fade and there are two more bands.

Maklak was clearly motivated by The Screaming Multitudes to be the loudest band of the night. Holy shit. A lot of people call bands that sound like grunge "post-grunge" because music writers love to use the word post in everything. So I guess theirs is a post-grunge kind of sound. I was listening in the hallway because my tinnitus was not going to allow me to be directly devastated by their auditory assault. It was tight, it was well-played. They covered "Angel" by Massive Attack very well.

Toward the end of the set I walked into the main room. Approximately 45 seconds later someone fell face first into the concrete floor and bled everywhere. EMTS came, crowds gathered, guy got up and went to the hospital without the aid of an ambulance. Somehow this all happened before Maklak's set ended.

The Low Hums were sound-checking when the aforementioned face plant occurred. I felt for them because I was sure they were concerned but also hoping the show didn't get delayed or outright canceled. As it happened, the show proceeded in a rather orderly fashion. The Low Hums are pros and they showed it on the main stage. Now a bare bones conventional rock 4-piece, they powered through a fun set with nary a misstep. A fitting conclusion to a wild night.

I smoked too much. Smoke.

Day 2

After working a full day on a few hours sleep, I'm tired and cynical. This better be good. Clearly programmed as the "electro-hip-hop" night, Day 2 didn't disappoint.

I walked in at 8 and Cave Green had just begun their set. They are technically a 2-piece but of the Elton John/Bernie Taupin variety, Eleanor Murray was the sole performer. It was an enjoyable electro pop set that swayed between minimal beats and swirling piano/synth soundscapes. Eleanor's voice was the highlight, her melodies are soaring, kinda heavenly.

This is the part where I review rap. I like rap. I listen to rap. I'm not a connoisseur but I am a fan. Most of Day 2 featured very good rap performances. I will now embarrass myself. Please forgive me.

Astro King Phoenix kicked things off on the main stage by giving the subwoofers a workout. I don't remember the name of his DJ but the beats were hypnotic with some seriously psychedelic sample beds. Astro's flow is offbeat, his stage presence is relaxed and confident and he jumped on to the floor and high-fived people. Anyone who high-fives during the set is fucking amazing. The last 4 songs or so got much harder and he ended with a bang.

Smoke.

Guayaba was in the back room but she may end up on the main stage at a festival near you in the near Photo by Osato Cooleyfuture. That's because she was fucking awesome. Really awesome. She bounced from singing to rap so quickly and so effortlessly I looked down and realized I was pulling all of the money out of my wallet to throw at the stage. She had the entire crowd dancing with slacked jaws. One of the biggest surprises (to me). She was edgy but had a lot of pop crossover hooks that will very likely be on your radio soon. Look her up and bow down.

DoNormaal is probably the most buzzed-about artist playing Nadafest. If you're reading this article, you've probably read about her. If you haven't, read this or this or this. She's abstract, she's on point and her set featured a good mix of her classic cuts with new songs from her recent release "Third Daughter". There were a LOT of people in the room and many of them were singing every word to every song. Also her boots were fucking awesome.Photo by Osato Cooley

I step out to...smoke. Matt Ashworth from NadaMucho will not shut up about Downtown. That's ok though because he's very tall with a pleasant voice and on some level I fear him. So I listen before heading to the back room...

Downtown is, in fact, awesome. To be clear, you have to really like confrontational farce. They are like Suicide and Black Flag if both bands were morons and that is a strong compliment. Andrew, the proud Substation door man of legend, calls them "video game meth punk". They are. Mocking gun culture, bro culture, consumer culture and other cultural stupidity through unflinching deadpan embrace, they were a lot of fun.

Outside, I talked with Raven Matthews, now professionally known as RVN about his new album "GREYNEON" which I hadn't heard yet. It was stylistically different from his preivous offering "Disco Christ" but carried over some themes. "Prove it," I said in my head.

Photo by Osato CooleyRVN was telling the truth. His new material was gunge-esque at times (, at others it was closer to freak folk with a heavy emphasis on acoustic guitar (standout track for me was "Turkish Royals"). One of RVN's most admirable qualities is his ability to be incredibly off-beat, strange while remaining melodic and

memorable. He is a stage expressionist with no fear of being misunderstood. He never gives the answers to his questions, only provokes more.

Smoke.

Mirror Ferrari was the odd band out on this night. The back room was criminally under-filled for their performance which was a shame because Noel Leaf's passionate performance was incredible. Bare bones indie rock with some tasty RAWK riffs from time to time, they brought a change of vibe and intensity. Leaf used various credit cards for a pick, which never seemed to hamper his playing. He also offered helpful stories about making out at the Outback Steak House. Smart, simple synth chords and excellent drumming rounded out the performance and put Mirror Ferrari's excellent EP "The Pyramid" back on my stereo.Photo by Osato Cooley

By this point I was really tired and left just after Scribemecca's set started. I am a terrible person and deserve to die. I have seen Scribe before and it is well worth the investment in time and money.

Day 3

I am tired. I am withered. I am called by the glow of the Substation to return anyway. I do.

Sleepy Genes kicked the night off in the back room with a set of hard-charging pop punk featuring tight harmonies and smart synth playing. It gave me a Tegan and Sarah vibe. They also boasted a stylish inmate motif with matching striped shirts! Enjoyable.

Smoke. There are a lot more people here tonight than any other night. A LOT MORE.

The main stage came to life with a great set by Oliver Elf Army. Boasting a minimal 3-piece instrumentation, their melodies were impeccable and infectious. It would have been called Alterna-Pop 20 years ago, for the sake of argument I'm just going to call it good.

Smoke. Goddamn there are even more people here now.

By the time I walked back in Zelda Starfire had started in the back room and wasted no time getting everyone's attention. She played some mournful, traditional folk-Americana to start with her violinist but it was nearly impossible not to stare at the two-person, hand-operated lightbox show that was taking place on stage right. It was really cool and kinda hard to describe. Imagine a lightbox with cool shit and you've won the battle. After the lightbox and the violinist exited the stage, Starfire changed the pace and played some Johnny Cash-worthy badass folk punk. She sung out of a megaphone. A standout performance, thank you Zelda.

Crazy Eyes are a really good band that I've seen several times. They are mad, they are off-kilter and yet they are tuneful and catchy. It's contained, cleverly-constructed madness. They had a big crowd who was feeling every note with complete commitment. This is what festivals are about. Another show and Crazy Eyes has yet to disappoint me.Photo by Jake Hanson

I suddenly had a bad headache and went outside for a bit to get some air. I missed Shivertwins' set but heard it was great.

Steal Shit Do Drugs is a band whose name I've seen a lot but hadn't heard. They took the main stage with confidence and launched into a set of filthy, uncompromising punk rock. It felt a little like The

Cramps, a little like Dead Kennedys but more accessible than either. Front man Kennedy Carda in particular seemed to channel Iggy Pop and Jello Biafra.Photo by Jake Hanson

Smoke. By this point my ability to distinguish the finer points of each band has rapidly eroded. The only criticism of this entire festival is that Day 3 featured bands of very similar ilk. It was harder to stand out when so many bands were stylistically similar.

Snuff Redux was the last back room performance of Nadafest and were great. As noted previously, they had the misfortune of playing after several other bands that shared their creative disposition. My head was spinning and I was holding on for dear life. I lasted for about 5 songs and headed to a booth in the hallway to get my fragile bearings back.

Smoke. The crowd has thinned somewhat as it's 12:30 and MONSTERWATCH is still to play. But for about 3 hours, this was the closest I'd seen to Substation being sold out.

As I limped into the main room to watch MONSTERWATCH I am asking myself how I am going to write anything interesting or notable. My brain is overworked and underfed. My feet hurt. I am old and weary. And then...

Power. Youth. Reckless abandon. MONSTERWATCH have studied early 90's Seattle, learned from it and taken it several steps further. It's been a long time since I've heard a band with this much power. Just as I was feeling out of it and ready to sneak out, my pulse is now racing and I kinda wanna punch someone in the face. Not really but really. There are some obvious Nirvana-isms but the sheer force of their will makes me forget about them in a hurry. This was a perfect way to end Nadafest and I am very grateful that I stuck around.Photo by Jake Hanson

In all, Nadafest was exceptional from top to bottom. Substation is a haven for artists outside of the city's more mainstream artists and this was a celebration of their work. I smoked to much, drank too many Red Bulls and will probably require a short-term hospitilization but, to the artists, venue, and organizers, I tip my very large cap (because I have a very large head).